Easter Egger rooster and Barred Rock hen crosses?

[tezolt]

A local feed store would like to buy chicks from me next spring, however they really want some black sex link chicks. Right now I have 2 Rhode Island Red roosters and 2 Easter Egger roosters (not barred) over 13 RIR hens and 22 EE hens. I would like to add maybe 10 Barred Rock hens. I know the RIR roosters over the Barred Rock hens will give true BSL chicks, as well as the EE roosters over the Barred Rock hens, however will I be able to tell the difference? Or will both crosses give all black downed chicks and have to wait until they feather out? Will the EE rooster and BR hen cross lay green, blue, or brown eggs?

Thank you for the help!!

 

[donrae]

What color are your EE roosters? Silver-ish roosters aren't necessarily going to throw chicks with a nice visible head spot. Red based roosters will be more likely to.

The EE/Rock chicks will have darker legs as a rule, and a modified pea comb. Depending on the rooster's color, they may be more colorful although the black from the Rock often overrides other colors.

Egg color depends on the rooster's genetics. If he's pure for blue, then crossing him with a brown hen will give green egg laying offspring. If he's split, one blue and one brown, then his offspring will have a 50/50 chance of laying green or brown eggs.

 

[tezolt]

 

[tezolt]

 

[tezolt]

Sorry was trying to do it from my phone but it wouldn't let me upload both of them . The rooster with more black has blue shanks, the more white rooster has green shanks and is getting a gold tint to him with dark red/orange splashes on his back with age. Both are muffed with pea combs. We had an issue with feather picking early on so both my EE roosters are in the process of growing their tails back :/. Some of the EE hens have english game in them and are a bit more feisty than normal which I think caused the feather picking... at least we have it under control now despite my tailless roosters!

If you have any other knowledge on these guys possible genetic traits that will show up in their chicks please let me know! ))

Also, my RIR rooster and EE hen crosses will still be EEs, not olive eggers, correct? Will this cross be more likely to lay brown eggs than green when compared to my EE/EE crosses? None will lay blue eggs?

Thanks for your help!

 

[donrae]

Those guys aren't going to make reliably sex linked chicks. The down color on the chicks won't necessarily be dark enough to see the head spots at hatch.

To lay blue eggs, a hen has to get a blue egg gene from each parent. When you mix a blue layer with a brown layer, you get green. To get a true Olive, you need a dark brown layer like a Marans or Welsummer mixed with a blue layer---although some folks are calling any shade of green Olive eggers just to jump on the popularity bandwagon and make a buck.

 

[tezolt]

Thank you very much for the help. Could you explain why a red rooster allows for a more visbile spot on a bsl chick? I thought the chicks would be black at hatch and the white spot comes from the barred rock hen's baring gene. With the red rooster the bsl chicks are black because the black from the hen is more dominant? Is the white from the EE roosters dominant over the barred rock black? I am very confused lol...

Thanks again!

 

[tezolt]

Another question after doing some research... would a RIR rooster with a cuckoo maran hen give a bsl chick with a darker brown egg compared to a bsl chick that came from a barred rock hen? But the rooster determines egg color?

Sorry for all the questions, I really want to know more about chicken genetics.

Thanks again!

 

[donrae]

Genes from egg color come from both parents. There are multiple genes that control the shade of brown, so dark brown is complex. If your cuckoo Marans lays dark eggs, and you breed her to a regular brown egg layer, the offspring pullets should fall inbetween. One problem is lots of cuckoo Marans, especially hatchery stock, have not been culled for a nice dark egg color so their eggs really aren't that dark. You've got to start with good stock to get good offspring.

The silver from the EE roosters isn't necessarily dominant over the black from the Rocks, but you'll likely get a mix of chick down colors. On silver-ish colored chicks, you can't see the head spot and even the barring can be tricky to see once they feather in. Pretty much all you can do is try it and see how his particular genetics play out, or go with a red-based rooster.

 

[tezolt]

Thank you this helps a lot. I have RIR roosters that I use for bsls, however I was just curious about the EE roosters . Thanks again.